Taken- a Selection FanFiction

Chapter 11

I sat in Nathan's room on his couch. Since we were now officially to be 'married', I had been permanently moved into his room.

I was in the room alone with only a dim lamp lighting the wide, open space. I turned the ring around my finger anxiously, looking blankly at the black ceiling. I heard the door open, and I snapped up at the noise.

I had expected Nathan, but instead, two men came inside in black guard uniforms. One of them removed me from the couch, without me saying a word.

"What do you think you're doing?" I yelled as they each picked up a side to the couch. They carried it out with them, taking the only source of comfort other than the abnormally plush carpets and bed. "That's my couch!"

Nathan turned a corner, giving the two men an odd look as they carried the couch away. "Your couch?" He said with a questioning expression.

I felt a blush creep on my cheeks, and I forced it back. I uttered something unfathomable to Nathan, to which he gave a smile he attempted to hide.

"I brought some food up," he said, referring to a good sized bag on his wrist I had yet to notice.

I smiled giddily like a small child as I ran to him. My dress drug against the floor, but I couldn't care less since it wasn't my property, nor Illèa's. I peered into the bag to see something I had never eaten before.

"Whag is this?" I asked curiously as I pulled out a plastic bag.

"You've never eaten potato chips?" He asked incredulously.

"No. My parents don't let us have junk food. She doesn't believe in unhealthy foods," I told him as he opened the metallic bag. "Or at least, they didn't," I corrected myself.

Nathan gave me a pitiful look, and I could see the sympathy lying in his golden orbs. I didn't understand why he felt so terribly; he was just following orders. I shook it off, for I didn't want to appear weak amongst the other explain things I had done today.

"What are potato chips?" I asked, changing the subject.

"The only thing that's good in the hell hole," he laughed. He jumped back on the bed, his neck rising so that his head could meet the backboard. I joined him, sitting in the way most comfortable to me.

Nathan opened the bag of potato chips and offered me one. I took out the delicate crisp and looked at Nathan hesitantly. He gave me a nod, and I put the chip in my mouth.

I crunched as I bit down. It filled my mouth with a bitter and salty taste, and my mouth went dry. My tongue had to adjust to my arid cheeks, and I began a coughing fit.

"These are terrible!" I sputtered between coughs. Nathan just sat back laughing.

He popped the chips in his mouth and reached in the big sack. He pulled out several bags of chips, waters, bottled drinks, and a few apples. I hastily grabbed an apple and let the juice saturate my mouth, filling it with sweet relief.

"Wow, not even going to share?" Nathan raised an eyebrow humorously. I laughed and swallowed a chunk of my apple.

"Nope. Engaged couples don't need permission to share," I replied, taking a bite of my apple.

"So we can make jokes about the engagement now?" He asked unseemly.

"The whole thing is a joke," I scoffed as I took another bite out of my apple.

We sat in silence until I asked why there were so many bags. He then explained that they had different flavors. Despite ny best protests, he forced me to try all of them. I ended up liking sour cream and onion the best.

"Where am I supposed to sleep since they took your couch?" I asked him. "I'm not sleeping in this either."

"I don't know. I'll figure something out. Go do whatever you usually do before bed," he suggested. I nodded my head and went to his bathroom.

It was huge compared to mine. It was the size of my prison cell plus the closet and bathroom. It had a spacious walk in shower, bathtub, and a marble sink. My mouth fell agape as I stepped on the absorbent rugs and fluffy towels.

I got into the shower and tried messing with the handles. When I finally got it to work, I looked for soap. I only saw what Nathan probably used, so I sniffed out the least-manly and used it. While I raised my hair, I hears the door open and froze.

"What the hell!" I shrieked. Fortunately, towels hung over the metal rungs on the opposite side of the shower door. The glass was extremely foggy due to the hot water, but I could still spot a head of dark hair on the blurry figure.

"I'm sorry!" He said flustered. He averted his eyes. "I was just dropping off clothes."

He walked out of the bathroom with a hand shielding his eyes. I wasn't sure if my face was burning from the hot water or embarrassment.

I eventually got out of the shower and put on the clothes lying on the marble countertop. It held a large black t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. I slipped the shirt over my underwear gladly, and it stopped around three inches above my knees. The neckline fell so fair, it looked as if I had a scoop-neck shirt on. I then held up the sweatpants and decided against them.

I dried my hair with a towel before blow-drying it with one of the finest hairdryers I had ever used, including the one at the palace. My natural waves fell all the way to a little above my hips. I touched the silky strands and thought about my last haircut.

After I exited the bathroom, I saw Nathan sitting on his bed reading a book. I smirked slightly at the cover, since it was Legend, the book from which I had used a code to deliver to Aaron. I threw the sweatpants back at him, wadded in a ball.

"Hey," he said irritated. "I go through all the trouble to deliver these to you, and yet you deny them?"

I felt a rush of heat rise to my face and along the back of my neck. I allowed my dark brown hair to fall across my face to hide the blush. "I don't wear pants," I retorted. I walked over to Nathan's large bookshelf that had suddenly appeared very interesting.

"Like, ever?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. At this point, he had marked his place in his book and closed it before setting it down on his nightstand.

"No. I've never worn pants, unless you count tights or thin leggings," I responded. "Mother said that ladies didn't wear pants, so she didn't allow it."

"That's bull," Nathan laughed. "Feel free to read any of those books on that shelf," he said with a gesture of his head. "You're going to be in this room for a long time these next few weeks."

"Won't I be cleaning?" I asked confused.

"No. Now that your engaged, you don't work. That's also why you had a change in wardrobe. Only single women wear dresses like you wore before."

"Penelope worked," I said stiffly. I refused to show emotion at the mention of her name, and Nathan could see my discomfort in the way my muscles tightened.

"True, but John Brown was a general in the army. I'm the successor as of right now, which makes you of a higher title," he explained as he gathered blankets and pillows off of the bed.

"What do you mean 'as of right now'?" I asked curiously as I helped him pull back the hefty red comforter on top of his bed.

"We're going to escape, aren't we?" He asked hopefully.

"I hope so," I sighed. The situation had become so dire, I wasn't so sure Aaron even considered rescuing me.

I don't even think he cared anymore.